Failing classes, Saturday School, court and dropping out. These are problems that a new AISD program called AIM Truancy is trying to solve.
AIM Truancy is a program aimed at students who have enough unexcused absences to be filled on in court. The program consists of a student having a mentor who calls to wake them up in the morning.
The student then must check in on a GPS device when they are leaving home, arrive at school, they arrive to school after lunch and, when they get home before at nine p.m. curfew for high school students and speak to a mentor either Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.
We believe that this program is too intense for many of the students on campus. Out of the many students that were called to the meeting, the biggest problem was getting to school on time.
Starting in October, around 300 students have spoken with representatives from AIM Truancy. Other schools in the district that are participating in the program are Crockett, Eastside Memorial, Lanier, LBJ, McCallum, Travis, Reagan and International High Schools. The program was first tested last year at Eastside Memorial.
As a staff we believe that AIM Truancy is too invasive, too harsh, and being pushed on students wrongfully.
We feel that this program is too stern for many students due to the GPS system and constant calling.
Many students that were offered the program did not have extreme attendance problems. Pulling a student away from class to be told about this program is wrong.
Another problem with this program is that it is too aggressive for students.
The program is near boot-camp level of “attendance rehabilitation.” The GPS, constant check-ins, and curfew are too much to help students get back on track.
When students heard about this program, they were pulled from a class into the library. In the library, groups of four students met with an adviser from AIM who said if the student did not bring back paperwork stating they would participate in the program, they would be filled against for truancy. This is not true. The district must send a warning, and final notice letter before filing in court. The program is being used as a scare tactic and not a useful resource.
Some advocates for the program may say that the program did have a high success rate during the trial run with 12 out of 13 students graduating.
Although the program helped students at Eastside Memorial, the solution shouldn’t be something as interventional as this. Akins does not need this type of program to fix attendance problems.
Others might say that the program gives a student a person to rely on for those who have no one to talk or speak to about these kinds of things. But at Akins, Student Support Services has that option available for students.
Any student who feels that they need any extra support can get it from the SSS.
Overall, we believe this program to be too invasive, aggressive and being pushed on students wrongfully.
